Cementing tool



April 22,- l941 s. R. ROBINSON E-rAL 2,239,295

CEMENTING TOOL Filed Feb. 17, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet l 50 e2224M/Hw April 22, 1941- s. R. RoBlNsoN E1- Al. 2,239,295

GEMENTING TOOL Filed Feb. 17, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 WMU/4M d 7km/Ws Je.

Patented Apr. 22, 1941 slayaen R. Robinson, Whittier, and william J. Travers, Jr., Bakersfield, Calif., assignors to Halliburton Oil Well Cementing Company, a

corporation of Delaware Application February 17, 1940, Serial No. 319,546

12 Claims.

This invention relates generally to oil well tools and particularly to such tools as are used for carrying out cementing operations in oil Wells.

In oil well drilling and production practice, it is necessary to perform cementing operations at various points in the well above the bottom of the Well. These cementing operations usually entail the forcing ofv cement through holes in the casing, such'holes being either originally provided in thecasing as in the case of combi-- nation production strings of casing, or subsequently .provided after the casing is in the well by any of the well known casing perforating methods. Such cementing operations require considerable time and equipment an-d with the apparatus now commonly in use necessarily result in leaving apparatus and cement in the well forming objectionable obstructions which mustl be drilled out. When it is desired to perform several cementing operations in the same well at various depths in the Well, it is necessary for the ordinary apparatus to be run in and out of the Well making several round trips in order to accomplish the multiple cementing operations.

The cost of drilling the well and placing it on a production basis can be greatly reduced if these attendant disadvantages of ordinary cementing methods can be eliminated.

Generally it is an object of this invention to provide a new and improved tool for use in performing cementing operations in a well so that such operations may be carried out without the above mentioned and other disadvantages of the ordinary present day apparatus for performing eementing operations. It is also an object of this invention to provide a cementing tool which may be used for performing multiple cementing operations in a Well at different depths without removing the tool from the well until all of the cementing operations have been completed, thereby eliminating the necessity of several round trips of the cementing apparatus into and out of the Well as is necessary with ordinary equipment.

It is afurther object of this invention to provide a cementing tool which may be operated in ing.

from and flushed out of the interior of the cas- It is a further particular object of this invention to provide a tool of the type indicated which has a. means for by-passing liquid to opposite sides of the casing engaging packers mounted on the tool during raising and lowering of the tool in the well, the means being controllable to close the by-pass means during the operation of cementing and forv the performance of other operations. It is also an object to provide `a tool of the type indicated having means for closing only a part of the by-pass means referred to immediately above.

It is a further object to provide a tool which may be used for ushing excess cement from. the well and from the tool itself without increasing the pressure of the liquid in the well located below the lowermost packing element on the tool.

It is also an object to provide a. tool which can be operated to determine whether the rtool itself is located in a region of perforated or nonperforated pipe so that the tool can be used for accurately locating the so-called combination point cementing holes of combination casing.

It is a still further object to provide a tool which is capable of adjustment to permit of y circulation of :fluidA through the tool and the the well without leaving any apparatus in the Well and Without leaving any objectionable bridges orobstructions of any kind in the well. In this connection it is an object to provide a tool which is entirely removable from the well and further to provide a tool which may be flushed clean of excess cement and which is so designed that excess cement may be circulated well casing in several different ways.

These and other objects will be apparent from the drawings and the following description thereof. Referring to the drawings which are for illustrative purposes only:

Fig. l is an elevation partly in section of the upper portion of the tool, Fig. 1a is a sectional elevation of the intermediate portion of the tool, and Fig. 1b is a sectional elevation of the lower portion of the tool, each successive figure of the vdrawings being views of the successive portions Fig. 2 is a. schematic sectional illustration of the tool shown in contracted position:

Fig. 3 is a schematic sectional elevation of the tool in the extended position shown. opposite the combination point holes of a combination casing; and

Fig. 4 is a schematic sectional elevation of the tool in the intermediate position shown above the combination point holes.

More particularly describing the invention, the cementing tool embodies an inner tubular member H and an outer tubular assembly generally indicated by reference numeral I2. The outer assembly includes a slip mechanism I4, an upthe stuffing per by-pass section I per by-pass section I5, a cementing section I8, a lower by-pass section I1 and abarrel I8. These sections making up the outer assembly of the tool are separated by stumng boxes in which the inner tubular member is slidably received. Thus,

box I9 is provided between the upand the cement section I3. Stumng boxes 20 and 2| are provided at opposite ends of the lower by-pass section I1 and a stuffing box 22 is provided atthe lower end of the barrel I8.

Each of the stuffing boxes (see stumng box I9 of Fig. la) comprises a'fltting 24 having an internal flange 25, suitable packing 26, and a packing gland 21 for holding the packing compressed against the inner tubular member I I.

Referring to the details in construction of the tool, the upper end of the inner tubular member I| is connected to a reducingl coupling 30 which is connected to the lower end of an oil well tubing or drill pipe 3| which may be considered as extending to the surface of the ground for raising and lowering the tool in the well. When the tool is rst'lowered in the well, the inner tubular member is attached to the lower stuiilngbox 22 to prevent movement of the inner tubular member relative to the outer assembly. To accomplish this attachment a shoe 32 is provided at the lower end of the inner tubular member. Links 33 and shear pins 34 detachably connect the shoe to the lower stufiing box 22. The shoe and stufilng box are provided with inter-engaging clutch faces 35 and 36 so that the inner tubular member and outer assembly may be rotated as a unit. As will subsequently be described, the tool is lowered in the hole with the parts attached as shown in Figs. 1, la and lb and also Fig. 2 and subsequently the pins are sheared so that the inner tubular member may be moved relatively to the outer assembly.

The slip mechanism I4 provided at the upper end of the outer assembly is for the purpose of anchoring the outer assembly in the oil well casing at any desired point and this mechanism is of the ordinary construction employing the common pin and slot means for locking the slips in the unengage-d position.

Below the slip mechanism there is provided a coupling 31 in which is mounted the upper bypass section I5 which comprises a tubular member 38 provided with suitable openings or ports 39, 39 in its walls. The lower end of this tube 33 is mounted within the stuffing box I9. This construction forms what will be termed an upper chamber 43.

At the lower end of the stumng box I5 there is provided a reducing coupling 42 into which is threaded a tubular member 43 which has mounted thereon the oppositely disposed packing members 44 and 45. These packing members are mounted facing each other so that they will cooperate with the well casing to form a packed off area which is substantially liquid tight against escape of pressure liquid upwardly or downwardly past the packers. The tube 43 is provided with suitable cement outlet openings 43 between the packing members. The tubular section 43 and the stumng boxes I! and 2l form what will be termed an intermediate chamber 41.

An inverted reducing coupling, indicated by reference numeral 43 is provided at the lower end of member 43 for attaching the stufilng box 20 thereto. Between stuiiing boxes 2l and 2|. is the lower by-pass section I1 which comprises the tubular member 45 which is provided with openings 50. The tubular member 49 and the stuffing boxes 20 and 2| cooperate to form a lower chamber 5|.

A barrel 52 is provided between stuffing boxes 2| and 22 and this cooperates with said stuffing boxes to form a packed-off chamber 53.

The inner tubular member is provided with three ports, the uppermost of these ports, assuming the tool to be in the contracted position in which it is shown in Figs. l, la, and lb, .and Fig. 2 is within the chamber 40 of section I5 and is indicated by reference numeral 54. The intermediate port is positioned within the chamber 41 of cementing section I6 and is indicated by reference numeral 55, while the lower port is within the chamber 5| of lower by-pass section I1 and is indicated by reference numeral 55. I

When the tool is rst lowered in the well, the inner and outer assemblies are relatively immovable by reason of being temporarily connected through the medium of the links 33 and shear pins 34. As the tool is lowered in the hole, the ports 54 and 55 act as a by-pass means for bypassing liquid in the well past the packers 44 and 45 through the inner tubular member. In this connection, it is apparent that well liquid may enter the port 5B through `the holes 50 in lthe tubular member 45 and may leave port 54 and pass out of openings 39-39' in the member 33 above the packers. When the tool is raised the flow of liquid is in the opposite direction.

To clearly illustrate and describe the operation of the tool, reference is made to Figs. 2, 3 and 4 where the tool has been schematically shown to facilitate illustration., In the operation of the cementlng tool the tool is lowered into the well inside of the well casing 30 on the end of a string of pipe 3| with the tool in the position in which it is shown in Fig. 2, that is in contracted position. The parts are held in this position by links 33 and shear pins 34. The tool may be readily lowered in the well by reason of the fact that in this position the liquid may by-pass through the tool to opposite sides of the packers as heretofore described. When the tool has been lowered to the desired point the slips are set by slightly rotating the tubing 3| to cause the pin of the slip assembly to become aligned with 'the elongated or maior portion of the slot in the slip assembly and thereby release the slips for engagement with the well casing. After the slips have been set the inner tubular member may be freed from the outer assembly of the tool by a jarring action which will serve to break the shear pins.

In order to locate the tool at the proper point in the casing so that the packers are on opposite sides of, for example, the combination point cementing holes indicated by reference numeral 5| in Figs. 2, 3 and 4, such holes having been shown as having outwardly opening iiap valves thereon, circulation of liquid is established downwardly through the string 3| and the tool with the tool in its extended position or lowest position shown in Fig. 3. If circulation is impeded it is then obvious that the packers are in a region of non. perforated pipe since the only outlet for the downward circulating fluid from the inner tubular member is through ports 54, 55 and openings 46. The tool may then be raised until the combination point holes are located with the tool in the position shown in Fig. 3.

After the perforated region of the casing has tion of Fig. 4 so that the liquid in the pipe 3| below the introduced cement may be flushed out above and below the packers as would be the case with the tool in the position of Fig, 2, or may be flushed out merely above the packers as with the tool in the position of Fig. 4, until the cement reaches the tool. This operation prevents the objectionable displacement of such liquid out through the perforated casing between the packers where it is desired to perform the cementing operation. After the known quantity of liquid in the string of pipe 3| below the introduced .cement has been circulated out and the cement has been pumped down to the tool, the tool is then extended to the position of Fig. 3 so that with continued pumping the cement will be forced down through the inner tubular member and out through the openings 54 and 55 of the inner tubular member and the openings 46 of the outer tubing lto the region between the packers and then outwardly through the perforations in the casing to the desired region behind the casing. It should be noted in this connection that there position of Fig. 2. Establishment of circulation with the tool in this position may be desirable for performing certain operations in the well.

The tool` may then be raised to some other point in the well where it is desired to perform a cementing operation merely by raising the string of pipe 3| thereby raising the inner tubular member to its uppermost position in the outer tubular assembly, permitting by-pass of liquid to opposite sides of the packers.

While we have described a particular embodiment of our invention, it is to be understood that it is not intended to limit the invention to the exact construction shown, but it is intended to cover such changes as come within the scope -of the claims.

We claim as our invention: 1. In a tool of the type described, the combination of: a tubular outer assembly; a pair oi?` releasably suspending said outer assembly; andv an inner tubular member slidably receivable in said outer assembly, said tubular member being is ample space between the inner tubular member and the outer tubing betweeny the stufIing boxes i9 and 20 to permit the ow of cement or liquid from the inner tubular member through ports 54 and 55 to the cement holes 45 of the outer tubing. u

With the tool in extended position the lower port Y is blocked off within chamber 53.

After suiiicient cement has been placed behind the casing the tool may be raised to a point above the perforated region as shown in Fig.l 4, the

provided with three ports adapted to respectively communicate with the openings in said outer assembly when said inner tubular member is in slips set and reverse circulation of liquid established with the cementing tool still in the extended position of Fig. 3, the circulation of liquid being down between the casing and tubing 3| and the tool, the liquid flowing past the uppermost packer and in through openings 46 and into the inner tubular member until` excess cement which may have found its way into the casing and which may remain in the region between the packers or in the tool is flushed out.

After this operation, or if preferred before this operation, the tool may be positioned with the inner tubular member in the intermediate position of Fig. 4 establishing communication between upper port ,54 and openings 38 above the packers and circulation may be established the regular way down through tubing 3| and the inner tubular member and out through rport 54 and opening 38 above the uppermost packer 44. It is to be pointed out that during this operation the lower by-pass port 56 is still within the packed off chamber 53 and therefore no pressure is placed upon the combination point holes or any portion of the casing below the packer'45. It is also possible to reverse the circulation with the tool in the intermediate position of Fig. 4,

that is circulate liquid downthe casing and into one position, to communicate with only said upper and intermediate openings when said tubular member is in a second position, and to communicate with only said intermediate opening when said tubular member is in a third position.

2. In a tool of the type described, the combination of: a tubular outer assembly having an upper. a lower, and an intermediate chamber. said chambers each being provided with openings to the exterior of said assembly; a pair of packing members adapted to engage a well casing carried by said 'outer assembly one on each side of the opening in said intermediate chamber; means adapted for engagement with the well casing for releasably suspending said assembly: and an inner tubular member slidably receivable in said outer assembly, said tubular member having ports therein positioned to selectively register with certain of said chambers dependent upon the longitudinal position of saidtubular member with relation to said outer assembly.

3. In a tool of the type described, the combination of: a tubular outer assembly having an upper, an -intermediate and a lower chamber, said chambers each being-provided with openings to the exterior of said assembly, said assembly having a packed-olf region belowv said lower chamber; a pair of spaced packing members carried' by said outer assembly adapted to engage a well casing, said packing members Vbeing disposed on opposite sides of the opening in said intermediate chamber; means adapted for engagement with the weil casing for releasably suspending said outer assembly; and an inner tubular member slidably receivable in said outer adapted to engage a well casing;

upper port into said intermediate chamber while maintaining said intermediate port in said intermediate chamber and maintaining said lower port in said packed-oi! region.

5. In a tool of the type descrbed, the combination of suspension means for releasably engaging a casing wall; an outer tubular assembly associated with said suspension means and comprising an upper, an intermediate, and a lower periorate `section and an imperiorate section, said sections being separated by stuillng boxes thereby forming an upper, an intermediate, a lower and a closed chamber respectively; a' pair oi spaced packers mounted on said intermediate periorate section on opposite sides oi the perforate region of said section; and an inner tubular member slidably receivable in said outer assembly and said suspension means, said inner tubular member being provided with an upper, an intermediate, and a lower port adapted to be positioned in said upper, said intermediate, and said -lower chamber respectively when said inner tubular member is in one position, said inner tubular member being movable to bring said lower port into said closed chamber, and being further movable to bring said upper port into said intermediate chamber while maintaining said intermediate port in said intermediate chamber and said lower port in said closed chamber.

6. In a tool of the type described, a tubular outer assembly; tour stuiilng boxes in said assembly at spaced points; said assembly being provided with three perforate regions located respectively above the uppermost stuiling box, between the uppermost and second stuiilng box, and between the second and third stuffing boxes; a pair of spaced packing members mounted on said outer assembly on oppositesides of the intermediate of said periorate regions; and an inner tubular member slidably receivable in said outer assembly and in said stufling boxes, said member being provided with three spaced ports adapted to register with the respective periorate regions oi vsaid outer assembly when said inner tubular member is in the uppermost position relative to said outer assembly. said inner tubular member being movable to position the lowermost port between the third and fourth stuillng boxes while maintaining the other ports respectively in the -region of the intermediate and uppermost perforate regions, and being further movable to cause the uppermost and intermediate ports to be positioned in the intermediate periorate region while maintaining the lowermost port between said third and fourth stuiilng boxes.

'7. In a tool of the type described, an outer tubing; a pair or spaced packers on said tubing said outer tubing having an opening in its wall between said packers; an inner tubular member slidably mounted in said outer tubular member and being adapted to be attached at its upper end to a string of tubing for operating the tool in a well, said .inner tubular member having a port communicating with said opening in said outer tubing; a shoe mounted on the lower end of said inner tubular member positioned below said outer tubing; clutch means formed on the lower end of said tubing and the upper end of said shoe adapted for engagement when said inner tubular member is in the uppermost position relative to said outer tubing whereby said outer tubing may be rotated by rotation of said inner tubular assembly and the exterior above said tubular member through the medium of said clutch means; and suspension means adaptedior engagementwith the well casing for releasably `anchorimr said outer tubing in a well casing, said means including inter-engaging means between said outer tubing and said suspension means for holding said suspension means inoperative,

said interengaging means being releasable byl rotation or said outer tubins.

8. In a-tool oi the type described, an outer tubing; a pair or spaced packers on said tubing adapted to engage a well casing; said outer tubing having an opening in its wall between said packers; aninner tubular member slidably mounted in said outer tubing and being adapted to be attachedat its upper end to a string oi tubing for operating the tool in a well, saiclinner tubular member having a port communicating with said opening in said outer tubins; a shoe mounted on the lower end of said inner tubular member positioned below said outer tubing; clutch means formed on the lower end oi said tubing and the upper end of said shoe adapted for engagement when said inner tubular member is in the uppermost position relative to said outer tubing whereby said outer tubing may be rotated by rotation oi said inner tubular member through the medium oi said clutch means; means for releasably suspending said outer tubing from the well easing, said means including in- .terengaging means between said outer tubing and said suspending means for holding said suspending means inoperative, said interengaging means being releasable by rotation of said outer tubing; means for securing said inner tubular member and said outer tubing together, said means being capable of being rendered inoperative by jarring said inner tubular member after said outer tubing is suspended from the well casing.

9. In a well cementing tool, a tubular assembly adapted to be suspended in a well on a string of pipe; a pair of spaced packers mounted on said tubular assembly; means establishing communication between the interior of said tubular assembly and the exterior thereof at a point between said packers; and means establishing communication between the interior of said tubular assembly and the exterior thereof at a. point above said packers and at a point below said packers; said last mentioned means being controllable to close communication between the interior oi said tubular assembly andthe exterior thereof at a point below said packers while maintaining Acommunication open between the interior'of said packers* and intermediate said packers.

10."In a well cementing tool', an outer tubing; a pairfoi' spaced packers mounted on said outer tubing; an inner tubular member slidably receivable in said outer tubing and adapted to'be suspended on a string oi pipe; means establishing communication between the interior of said inner tubular member and the exterior of said outer tubing in the region between said Packers; means establishing communication between the interior of said inner tubular member and the exterior oi said outer tubular assembly at a point above said packers and at a point below said packers, said inner tubular member being movable to control said last mentioned means and close communication between the interior of said inner tubular member and the exterior oi said outer tubing below said packers while maintaining communication between the interior of said inner tubular member and the exterior of said outer tubing above said packers and between said packers.

11. In a tool of the type described: the combination of: a tubular outer assembly; a pair oi' spaced packers on said outer assembly adapted to engage a well casing; said outer assembly being perforate in regions above, intermediate and below said packers; and an inner tubular member receivable and movable in said outer assembly and cooperating therewith to form isolated annular chambers `in the outer assembly at each perforate region, said inner tubular member having ports therein positioned to selectively register with certain of said chambers dependent upon the position of said tubular member with relation to said outer assembly.

12. In a tool of the type described; the comblnation of: a tubular outer assembly; a pair of spaced packers on said outer assembly adapted to engage a well casing; said outer assembly being perforate in regions above, intermediate and below said packers; and an inner tubular membex` receivable and movable in said outer assembly and cooperating therewith to form isolated annular chambers in the outer assembly at each perforate region, said inner tubular member having ports therein positioned to selectively register with certain of said chambers dependent upon the position of said tubular member with relation to said outer assembly; and means for releasably suspending said outer assembly from a Well casing.

SLAYDEN R. ROBINSON. WILLIAM J. TRAVERS, JR. 

